November 27
by saidtheirnevers
Summary: He didn't know the blond very well, and having anyone drop by at this hour was already annoying.


**saidtheirnevers**

Okay, so I was looking through the chronology in HTR:13, and you know something? There're all these stories about how Matt comes to rescue Mello from the building...well, actually, Mello blows himself up on November 11, and he contacts Matt on November 27. Hmmm. (Also, there's really no evidence that Mello and Matt were ever anything more than acquaintances. So...this came to mind.)

* * *

When he got the knock, he was asleep. It was almost December, and he felt he deserved the winter lethargy, for all its memories brought. Stressful times in stressful environments, that was what winter was all about, wasn't it? Just one whole mess of stress, until you finally explode and it's spring. Well, spring was a long time coming, and for once, he didn't have anything to do but sleep, play videogames, and use his computer talents to take money from bank accounts. Sure, it was boring, but he was simply doing what everyone else in the country was trying to do--using his developed skills to pay for what needed to be paid for. Really, it was just like working, except without a college education, any kind of "work" he would otherwise be doing would be just as boring and unproductive. So there he was, sleeping. And then came the knock.

"Don't you know what time it is?" Matt himself wasn't sure, but he figured it was between four in the afternoon and ten at night.

"It's three in the morning." Oh. Well, then.

"Whatever you want, come back for it tomorrow."

"It already is tomorrow; let me in!"

"Come back at a decent hour; I'm trying to sleep."

"Matt, _please_ open the goddamned door."

So...he did. Reluctantly. A faint buzzing noise reminded him that he'd left the TV on...oh well. He unlocked the door and opened it slightly, peering out with one eye, just in case it was someone he didn't want to talk to.

Well, it was.

"Oh. Mello." Matt opened the door the rest of the way, letting the blond brush past him into the apartment. "Welcome, I guess."

"Unpleasant surprise?"

"Yeah, kinda." Matt didn't really know what to say. As the third-place whatever from Psycho Institution-ville, being intruded upon in the middle of the night by the second-place whatever was a little irritating.

Mello shrugged and pulled something out of his jacket pocket. A chocolate bar. Of...course. "I trust you've been following the news?"

"On Kira? Definitely, who isn't?"

"I can name a few former Wammy's residents who aren't." He unwrapped the chocolate and bit off a chunk, the snap echoing off the walls ever-so-slightly. "You know about the SPK, right?"

"Once again, who doesn't?"

"Don't get me started," Mello replied, anger cutting into his voice. "There are a few very _special_ people out there..." A sigh. "Anyway, Near, as the head of the SPK, has all the equipment and staff he needs to catch Kira. I, after a close call with an idiot carrying a Death Note, no longer have resources."

Matt resisted the urge to ask what a Death Note was. "Okay, so what did you come here for?"

"In a dual swim meet, the first-place finisher receives a certain amount of points. The second- and third-place points, combined, add up to more points than the first-place points."

Matt nodded. "And how many points ahead of you is the other team?"

"Too many, already." The blond turned to face Matt. "Are you in?"

Matt pondered the question for a moment. "Anything in it for me?"

"Yeah. Long hours, little sleep, and a lot of catching up."

Oh, right, what else would it be with someone like Mello? He'd heard the rumors back at the psycho farm. "You're gonna have to give me a little more than that, don'tcha think? How can you be sure I won't just go running to Near with all our information?"

Mello scoffed. "Any information we gather at this point, Near already has. Any information we gather that Near doesn't have, we'll still be two steps behind." He bit off another chunk of chocolate. "It'll give you something to do."

Okay, no more thinking. "Sure." Well, he didn't have anything better to do. "By the way, what happened to your face?"

"What happened to yours?"

"Funny." But as Mello grinned, so did Matt. "So, what are we doing now?" Who knew, this might turn out to be a beautiful...acquaintanceship.

"Surveillance."

Then again...

* * *

So...yeah. I took the "beautiful acquaintanceship" part from The Lion King 1 1/2.


End file.
